Callie stood at the entrance of Alpha's Brand Superstore, which had its name boldly written in bright neon lights at the top of its front walls. The fancy supermarket was owned by Mrs. Monty. A straight laced, fair weathered and blonde haired middle aged woman with a love for diamond necklaces and an avidity of rarely checking up on her establishment.
The low rise warehouse built of red bricks and a cathedral domed ceiling, had small rose bushes planted in between the tiled walkway and an extensively large parking space that was flecked with collections of parked vehicles.

Callie straightened her work jacket and waved her hand. "Hey Peter. You finally came."

Peter looked shocked to see her beaming and waving at him, the moment he got out of his old pick up truck. He sent her a dubious look, with his eyelids creasing his narrowed blue eyes. "Were you waiting for me? Or are you standing there waiting for someone else?"

Callie's attempt at a giggle made his nose wrinkle. "Don't be silly. My shift mostly ends five minutes before yours start, so I thought to myself, 'why not spend the five minutes outside, enjoying the air rather than sitting behind the counter?' And that's what I decided to do."

Peter cleared his throat. He looked at her for a second, then shifted his gaze to the floor. Here we go, shy Peter was back. "Oh well, ehm okay. If you—"

Callie quipped, before he could babble out any more incoherent words. "I like your hoodie. Is it new?"

Peter took a glance at his camouflage brown hoodie that hung freely around his skinny body and sent her a seemingly unimpressed look. "I usually always wear this. Most times."

Callie muttered an "oh", not knowing to say. She never really paid attention to what Peter wore or anything he did. Callie was almost worried about this 'friendship' thing not working but she was determined to beat Larkin at this. Callie really did want to be better.

His gaze rolled to the sidewalk. "I should get going. I wouldn't want to get late for work."

Callie's nervous laughter sounded totally unconvincing to her own ears, so she could understand why there was so much discomfort on his face. "There's no way Peter Doherty's ever late for work. You're like a saint around here. Saint Blue-eyed Peter."

Peter seemed hesitant to reply, but then blurted out. "I don't know what this is, but if you're interested in me or anything, I'd rather not hear you say it. I have a girlfriend and I really like her. You're really pretty and all, but I'm devoted to—"

Callie's face flushed, and then a sputter of laughs erupted out of her mouth, startling Peter for a second. "No offense, Peter but you're not my type." She felt so mortified hearing him assume what he said, but at the same time, she found it too funny for words. Peter actually thought she was asking him out. Callie could already imagine Larkin's reaction when she'd tell him.

Peter's ears brightened to a shade of rose pink, which made his ashen white skin look paler. "Oh shit. Sorry if I said that. I'm just not used to talking to you. When you first started working here, you avoided interacting with me, so I just decided to follow suit."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm trying to make up for it."

He responded, with a shrug. "You did try talking to me few weeks ago. I wasn't sure if you were high or trying to flirt with me. I didn't want to figure out which one it was."

Thick gust of wind slapped against her cheek and sent chills down her bones. Pushing back the waves of her hair which was tousled by the autumn breeze, Callie cast her gaze to the greying sky for a moment. "The rain's about to start. We should go in."

With a nod, he followed her inside and she answered his previous response. "I was only trying to make a new friend. I wouldn't want you to think that I was hitting on you."

Peter gave another nod and jammed his hands through his hoodie's side pockets. "That's cool. Since Wednesday's the only day we have our shifts at the exact same time, we can hang out at Mimi's after our shifts ends. That way we'd get to know each other better." He paused, to ask. "You know Mimi's right?"

Callie's brown eyes lit up. "Are you kidding me? I love Mimi's."

He gave a brief smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Cool. My girlfriend works at Mimi's, so all three of us can talk and hang out properly since you want to make new friends."

Wow, Callie had no idea he even had a girlfriend. It was a bigger surprise to know that his girlfriend worked in the one place she and Aunt Georgia always hung out. This really was a small town. A town she hadn't let herself fully explore. Well, better late than never.

★★★★
Aunt Georgia's mouth hung. "You're working for the Hammell kid?" They were having one of the many video calls Callie had with her to keep in touch and Callie decided to spill the beans to the one person she trusted. Surprisingly, Aunt Georgia wasn't taking it well.

Callie quickly averted her gaze to her door which was slightly left ajar, hoping Abe wouldn't overhear anything. "Please don't be so loud. My dad's around."

Aunt Georgia's newly dyed vibrant cinnamon red curls bounced when she shook her head. "It's not fair that you're hiding this from your dad. I'm not going to be one of those adults that'll let teenagers do risky stuff."

Callie almost swore. She had hoped Aunt Georgia would be on her side on this one. "Dad doesn't have a job yet and things are getting really tight. Before you say anything about wanting to help us, you did remind me sometimes ago that I'm almost an adult. I want to feel useful."

"Oh honey, you've been useful the moment your mom died. I don't want you to overwork yourself. I don't know if it's okay for you to be working for a teenage boy. Do you know how horny they get? He could jump you one day. One look at your tits and a sexual harassment case can pop up anytime."

Callie's face heated up, trying hard to fight the blush burning up her cheeks. "Larkin's not like that."

"Or are you working for him cause you have a crush on him?" Aunt Georgia gave a suggestive grin and wriggled her eyebrows playfully. "Not that I'm judging you, if that's truly why. Hell, I used to take my mom's car for a spin to impress a boy back in the day. We've all done a thing or two to get the attention of a person we like."

Callie could only gape at Aunt Georgia's image in front of her, as she struggled to make a reply. She rolled over to the other side of the bed and sat still. "That's not it. He's a friend. He pays me almost twice as much money that I get paid at Alpha's daily."

Aunt Georgia's sage green eyes whipped with interest. "If that's the case, then maybe you should leave Alpha's and work more at that mansion. As long as it's not a stressful job and he's not as scary as your dad makes him sound."

Callie felt her nerves bundling up. Talking about Larkin made her feel guilty. Almost like she was talking shit about him. It just felt strange sharing a deep part of herself about him. "I love my job at Alpha's too. If things get too difficult at home, then I'll quit my job at the superstore."

"So tell me about him. What's he like?" Aunt Georgia's eyes held a spark of curiosity. She tugged the straps of her butter yellow tank top and leaned closer to her screen.

Callie's voice came out softly, making Aunt Georgia lean much closer to pick out her words. "He's always calm. Almost like he's lost in his own world. He's crazy attractive and I don't think he lets himself appreciate it because of the scars on his face. He has green eyes, just not like yours. They're dark and alluring. So dark, it looks like he's hidden so much secrets inside those eyes. And he's smart, but at the same time, an idiot." She paused, to give a laugh while Aunt Georgia quietly watched her. "He'd rather stay home and be miserable, than let anyone in. He's sad and lonely, but I'm sure he'd give any chance to feel alive again."

Aunt Georgia's gaze met her vulnerable expression, and carefully said. "For someone who's just your friend, you sound very passionate about him. Are you sure you don't have feelings for him?"

Callie's heart stopped and a cluster of emotions tickled in her chest. Callie did her best to feel unaffected by her words. "He's just a friend."

Aunt Georgia shrugged. "If you say so. Just remember, denial doesn't look good on you."

Callie eyed her warily. It took a moment for her to find her words. "Can we just change the subject? When you called, you said you had news for me. I don't think we had the chance to talk about it."

Aunt Georgia's lips tugged into a wide grin and she waved her left hand right towards the screen. A ring nestled on her finger and sparkled nicely on her hand. Callie didn't understand how her eyes didn't catch something this huge before. "I'm engaged, Lissie."